30 Dec 2025 | Daily Current Affairs

Aravalli Hills Conservation: Supreme Court Pauses Judgment

Aravalli Case — Supreme Court Decision

What the Supreme Court did

  • The Supreme Court paused its own 20 November judgment on the Aravalli definition.
  • It decided to re-examine the issue through a new expert committee.
  • Till then, no irreversible action (like expanded mining) is allowed.

Why the Supreme Court can do this

  • Under Article 137 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to review its own judgments.
  • During review, it can keep an earlier judgment in abeyance to prevent harm.M
Aravalli Hills conservation
Aravalli Hills conservation

INSV Kaundinya Voyage Highlights India’s Ancient Maritime Heritage

What is INSV Kaundinya?

  • A reconstructed ancient stitched sailing ship of the Indian Navy, aimed at reviving India’s 2,000-year-old maritime tradition.
  • Inspired by 5th-century CE merchant vessels depicted in the Ajanta Cave paintings.
  • Formally inducted into the Navy in May 2025.

Construction & Technology (Why unique?)

  • Tankai (stitched) shipbuilding method
    • Wooden planks sewn with coir ropes
    • No metal nails or welding
  • Completely engineless
    • Powered only by wind and sails
  • Natural waterproofing
    • Hull sealed using fish oil, kundroos (tree resin), and vegetable oils

Cultural & Design Significance

  • Gandabherunda (two-headed eagle) on sails
  • Simha Yali (mythical lion) on the bow
  • Harappan-style stone anchor
  • Reflects continuity of India’s maritime civilisation

Maiden Overseas Voyage (December 2025)

  • Route: Porbandar (Gujarat) to Muscat (Oman)
  • Flagged off: 29 December 2025
  • Objective: Retrace ancient India–West Asia trade routes and highlight historic India–Oman maritime links
  • Crew: 16 Indian Navy personnel, trained in traditional seamanship
INSV Kaundinya
INSV Kaundinya

Gross NPAs in India Fall to Multi-Decade Low: RBI Data

Why in news?

  • RBI report shows gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) of Indian banks fell to a multi-decade low of 2.1% as of end-September 2025, indicating improved asset quality.

What is a Non-Performing Asset (NPA)?

  • A bank loan or advance in which interest or principal remains overdue for more than 90 days.

Latest Data

  • GNPA ratio: 2.1% (Sept 2025) | 2.2% (Mar 2025)
  • NNPA ratio: 0.5% (Sept 2025)

Bank-wise GNPA

  • PSBs: 2.6%
  • Private banks: 1.8%
  • Foreign banks: 0.9%
  • Small finance banks: 3.6%
Gross NPAs in India
Gross NPAs in India

Index of Industrial Production Rises to 25-Month High in November

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

Context (Why in news?)

  • IIP grew 6.7% in November (25-month high), led by manufacturing & capital goods

IIP (What?)

  • Measures short-term industrial output

IIP Covers

  • Manufacturing
  • Mining
  • Electricity

Base Year

  • 2011–12

Proposed New Base Year

  • 2022–23

Released by

  • Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)

Eight Core Industries (What?)

  • Lead indicators of industrial growth
  • 40.27% weight in IIP

Core Industries Data Released by

  • Office of the Economic Adviser
  • DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

8 Core Industries

  • Coal
  • Crude Oil
  • Natural Gas
  • Refinery Products
  • Fertilisers
  • Steel
  • Cement
  • Electricity

Global AI Summit India: Union Government to Host in February

Global AI Summit India

Context

  • India will host the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, a mega global meet comparable to the G20 scale.
  • It is part of a continuing international AI summit process that began in 2023 to shape global AI governance, norms, and cooperation.

Chronological Summary

  1. AI Safety Summit — 2023 (UK)
    • Focus: AI safety & risks
    • Outcome: Bletchley Declaration
  2. Seoul Summit on AI Safety — 2024 (South Korea)
    • Focus: Continuation of AI safety cooperation
  3. AI Action Summit — 2025 (France)
    • Focus: Implementation / action on AI governance
  4. AI Impact Summit — 2026 (India) (Upcoming)
    • Focus: Impact of AI on work, trust & sectoral use
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